Had Things Gone Differently
by HowWonderfulLifeIs
Summary: From the point when Aladdin shows Jasmine his home into a very different future...


Disclaimer: No, I don't own Aladdin. So what?

Jasmine felt a tremor roll down her spine as the boy led her to the most amazing home she had ever seen in her non-life. Sun-baked stone surrounded her on all sides, and broken rafters hung ominously in the way. What was it like, she marveled, to live such an exciting, even dangerous life? What must it be like to be totally self-dependent, without servants or snoopy parents who want to marry you off? Fabulous. She was joyous at finding this boy, who, for unfathomable reasons, had come to her aid in the marketplace that day.

Aladdin was overly aware of the girl's soft hand in his; her touch was so light, almost weightless, and it felt wonderful. Who was she? How could someone he barely knew have this kind of hold on him? He wondered how she saw him, if she liked him, if she thought he was nice. As he looked back on his actions earlier that day, he had no regrets. Such a strange, lovely girl was worth it.

"This is where you live?" Jasmine asked, awestruck.

"Yep," Aladdin grinned, "just me and Abu. It's not much, but for this view, it's worth it."

The boy drew back a terribly discolored curtain to reveal the most spectacular view Jasmine had enjoyed ever; it felt like she could fly. Now she understood why commoners longed to have her home and her life, because in the light of the sunset, the alabaster of the palace seemed to glow. The soft light washed over the rooftops of Agrabah, and suddenly everything was beautiful.

"I have to admit, I could get used to a view like this," she grinned. Aladdin felt he was getting a much better view, what with possibly the world's most graceful, charming, naturally beautiful girl standing before him. Then again, how would he know? He'd never been so close to a girl before… mentally, that is. He'd stood in crowds packed with heavily make-upped women before, and none of those girls could compare with this flower. This jasmine.

"I'd like to think I have the best view in Agrabah," he said. "I wonder what it'd be like to live there? No worries at all…"

Jasmine snorted.

"Except how you can please people with so many expectations."

"That's better than here," he mused.

Together, they said, "You're trapped." Aladdin gazed at her, surprised, as she stared down into her lap. Something deep in her brown eyes tipped Aladdin off that not everything was right. A melancholy note darkened them, even as she smiled out into the early evening. Tentatively, he seized her hand.

"Are you all right?" he inquired. He gestured for her to sit, and he kept a respectful distance.

For some unidentifiable reason, Jasmine felt she could trust the boy, but she did not want to place her burden on his back.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about me."

"If I didn't, I should be ashamed of myself. I promise, you're not hurting me if you vent a little."

Jasmine sighed, not a dramatic, tragic sigh, but something honest.

"I ran away from home to avoid arranged marriage."

Aladdin was horrified. "That's awful!" he exclaimed. Jasmine gazed up at him from beneath her fluttering eyelashes, and she saw in his inky eyes a strange mix of concern, pity, and… what? There was something else there, just beneath the surface, so close she felt she knew it, but she could not name it.

Abu was enraged by this disgusting display of human hormones, and he began swearing in monkesse, or monkey language. Only Aladdin understood what he was saying; he profusely scolded the little creature for calling the girl such nasty names. Jasmine blushed, figuring out quickly the reason for the creature's sudden onset of displeasure.

"I'll go, if you want me to…" she began.

"No!" Aladdin protested, leaping to his feet to pull her back down. "Please, don't. I like talking to you."

The sullen primate pouted in corner on some worn-out cushions. Jasmine sat back down, happy to stay for as long as she possibly could.

"What Abu meant to say was… Um…"

"I got the gist. Don't worry, I'm not in the least offended by rude behavior. I've infringed on his territory." Jasmine smiled cheerfully and waved at the monkey, offering truce. Abu, however, was reluctant to go for the bait.

"Well, he also wishes there was something he could do to help," Aladdin murmured. He felt he couldn't offer any assistance of his own.

"That's very sweet of him," Jasmine beamed. Suddenly, she and the boy were remarkably close, and Jasmine closed her eyes, although she had no real clue as to why. His warm breath washed over her neck, and she tenderly put a hand to his cheek. He pressed it there, and they continued to move closer. The magic was ruined when a man's deep voice thundered through the little lair.

"Here you are!" Razoul roared.

Aladdin and Jasmine simultaneously cried out, "They're after me!" Confused, they turned to each other, mouthing, "After you?" Abu signaled for the two to skedaddle, hopping onto his master's shoulder anxiously. Urgently, Aladdin clutched Jasmine's shaking hand, and murmured to her as gently as was possible, "Do you trust me?"

Poor Jasmine was so unsure of the situation, so she simply nodded. As soon as she realized they were plunging together, she shrieked, sure that death or at least a broken wrist was imminent. The air brushed over her, threatening to lower her cloak's hood, which was the worst possible fate. Surprisingly, the landing was on a soft pile of desert sand.

Frantic, Aladdin began to scramble away with the girl, but Razoul was ready and waiting for his arrival.

"We just keep running into each other, don't we, street rat?" Razoul mocked, throwing the waif into the waiting grasps of two other guards. Finally, the boy was in his clutches! The little gamine at the boy's side, however, began to pound him.

"Let him go!" the urchin girl bawled, but she was knocked easily aside; when her hood fell, Razoul realized his mistake.

"Princess! Forgive me, I-" the captain stuttered, and he kneeled. Aladdin's face was forced into the dirt as a sign of submission to the princess. The boy's face grew warm as he recollected the almost-kiss in his lair.

"You are forgiven for your treatment of me, Razoul, but I insist you set the boy free!" Jasmine glared. "Would you contradict your princess?"

Razoul hesitated for a few moments. After such a period of time, he signaled for the guards to release the street rat. What was one, more or less? As he and the guards left, they made an error in leaving the princess behind.

Once the thugs were out of earshot, Aladdin raised his now rosy face to stare pitifully up at Jasmine for what he thought would be the last time. Abruptly, he jumped up, and began to run. Jasmine ran after him, not understanding what was going on in the boy's head.

"Wait!" she bellowed, "Wait!" Over and over again she cried out to him, but he was back on the rooftops, going back to his home. As agilely as she could, Jasmine crossed the rooftops herself; nothing would stop her from reaching him, not even himself.

Aladdin sat alone on the worn cushions. Even Abu was afraid to approach the humiliated boy. The two jumped when Jasmine's soft blue slipper pushed through the curtain that shielded them from the world; Aladdin was on his knees in an instant, and he did not look up as Jasmine came to sit beside him.

"Who are you?" she asked the boy imploringly.

Shyly, he lifted his face for a moment, and mumbled, "My name is Aladdin, Your Grace."

"Well, Aladdin, is it at all possible that I could speak to your face? It's a very nice face to speak to, honest. The kind of face I could say was a friend's."

So Aladdin shifted to a sitting position. His face was no longer red with embarrassment, but it was pale; why was the Princess here, in this hideous little hovel on top of a roof?

Jasmine again put a hand to his cheek. The boy looked pained, and Jasmine could not figure out why. Such behavior bothered her, because she could not stand to upset the people she cared about.

"Why did you run?" she whispered, now pained herself.

"If I may, Your Grace, commoners can be beheaded for even speaking to royalty, and I'd prefer to keep my head," the boy grimaced. This upset Jasmine to no end, and tears began to trickle down her cheeks as she spoke.

"Aladdin, I'm Jasmine from now on, all right? And nobody can hurt you if I tell them no. I won't let them."

A silence fell, and Abu felt it would be appropriate to leave for a while. The two just sat, letting the moonlight wash over them for several minutes. Jasmine was afraid that if she spoke again, Aladdin would run again; Aladdin himself could not summon the nerve to ask the Princess why she had followed him back. The magic of the last moments before Razoul had come started to return, and Aladdin finally gathered enough courage.

"You followed me back," he muttered, which was not so much a question as a statement of fact with a question lurking beneath. Jasmine nodded, and she sighed, "I followed you because I like you. I think you're the best, most honest man I have ever met, and don't dare contradict that. It killed me to watch Razoul hurt you; you'd been so kind to me, not because I'm a Princess, but because you cared."

Aladdin's eyes popped just a tad; this was a surprise! The Princess's expression was so serious. Nothing like this had ever happened to him, and the very idea that a Princess could like a thief was absurd, a fairy tale to the commoners of the city.

"Jasmine… earlier, just before your Guards stormed this place, we almost… you know…"

"Kissed?" Jasmine finished for him.

"Yes… you really would have kissed me, a Street Rat? A thief?" he asked, begging her with his eyes to answer honestly.

"You are not a Street Rat!" Jasmine cried out. "And of course I would have. I don't just like you, Aladdin. I think I might love you!"

"You might… love… me?" he stuttered. A triumphant little fanfare rang in Aladdin's chest as he pondered the Princess's words; she loved him! Surely this was all just a very nice dream to keep him from thinking about how hungry and miserable he was.

"You know what? There's no 'might' about it," the Princess simpered. She batted those eyelashes that Aladdin found so irresistible, and he could only gape. The two rose to their feet together, and she wrapped her arms about his neck. Aladdin gently placed his hand against the small of her back, and the kiss-that-had-almost-been finally came. It was not long, nor was it a peck, but it was just long enough for Aladdin to pull the Princess closer. When they pulled away, Jasmine stared adoringly up at his face.

"Definitely no 'might'," she grinned.

"But this is ridiculous," he laughed. "Who ever would believe that I even spoke to you, let alone touched you? I barely believe it myself! So, what now?"

"What do you mean?" Jasmine queried.

"The way I see it, we have three options; we could stay here and discuss who-knows-what, you could go back to the palace and go back to being an ordinary Princess, or…" Aladdin paused for dramatic effect, and Jasmine poked him in an obnoxiously cute manner. "… We could explore the city. Just us two."

Jasmine beamed.

"I'll take option three."


End file.
